‘Thor 4’ Director Taika Waititi Talks Making Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster More Fun

Jane Foster's back and better than ever!

Marvel Thor Love and Thunder Natalie Portman Chris Hemsworth Jane Foster

Taika Waititi, director of Thor: Love and Thunder, has discussed how reimagining the character of Jane Foster for the movie was essential in convincing Natalie Portman to return.

Natalie Portman last appeared in the Thor franchise as Jane Foster in 2013’s Thor: The Dark World. Her absence in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok was explained away with a throwaway line revealing she and Thor had broken up.

While Portman had a fleeting role in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, appearing in a time travel sequence that saw Thor returning to the events of The Dark World, Love and Thunder will place Jane Foster in a central role in a Marvel movie for the first time in 9 years.

A New Jane Foster

While talking to Fandango All Access about Thor: Love and Thunder, Taika Waititi discussed bringing Natalie Portman back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Jane’s Mighty Thor guise. Waititi talked about taking a fresh approach to the character and reinventing her in much the same way he had done for Thor in Ragnarok, saying:

“I think what we did with Ragnarok made these movies appealing to other actors. Christian [Bale] saw that and was like, ‘I want to do something fun,’ came here, [and] wanted to be part of this thing. And Natalie too.

“I think that she was just wanting to make sure that- I don’t even know how to say this, but her character in those first few films was probably not the most exciting version of a female character that we’d want from these films. I had to just talk to her about the fact that I wanted to change that character, just like we’d changed Thor’s character for Ragnarok and to give her a bit more license to be adventurous and fun, because Natalie’s a really funny person.”

Thor: Ragnarok won widespread acclaim for its reinvention of the Thor franchise, overcoming the drab and often underwhelming tone of the first films by injecting the franchise with some comedy while exploring the more relatable aspects of Thor’s character. It sounds like Love and Thunder will see Natalie Portman take on a more developed version of Jane Foster.

Here is the synopsis for Thor: Love and Thunder:

The film finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced – a quest for inner peace. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who – to Thor’s surprise – inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.

Directed by Taika Waititi and produced by Kevin Feige and Brad Winderbaum, the film stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, and Russell Crowe.

Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters on July 8, 2022. Stay tuned for the latest news surrounding the upcoming film, and subscribe to Hero Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.

Source: Fandango All Access